39% responded ‘Other’ to the question of how frequently they clean privacy curtains

Curtains were most often changed or cleaned when a patient had been discharged from an isolation room for a multi-drug resistant organism

82% of respondents felt that hospital curtains are a potential source of transmission of healthcare associated infections

86% felt that management of hospital curtains could be improved

We’re not surprised at these results. They are yet one more confirmation that the issue of soft surface contamination is not being sufficiently addressed. We hope some APIC attendees and other infection control professionals will view the poster and make some of the improvements in how privacy curtains are handled. We look forward to better results in future surveys.